26 January 2010

Fans of Dr Who spin-off Torchwood (we've just finished the second series on DVD) will immediately recognise THIS view of central Cardiff, which plays a prominent role in the series. Cardiff, so the story goes, is in the middle of a rift in space and time and the Torchwood hub, where they deal with rift anomalies, is based underneath the Millennium Plaza (pictured). One episode has them rescuing a warehouse-scale alien meatloaf (built byBarney (son of Wystan) Curnow). Jumping into STREETVIEW, you're practically on location, waiting for Captain Jack to pop up out of the pavement.

22 January 2010

The strange representations of reality found on google earth (and maps) got even weirder a few years ago when they launched Street View, adding another layer of time slippage and weird glitches to an already complex landscape. Just over a year ago, Google's army of camera cars trawled the streets of New Zealand and we've been fascinated ever since. Whereas once it was cool just being able to zoom in on the roof of your house, or check out nearby swimming pools, now you can check out cats or catch people doing dodgy things. Naturally, suspicious country folk and those wearing tin-foil hats got nervous.

Our latest discovery is then phenomenon of cloaked cameras. You haven't travelled until you've driven the streets of Alaska inside a PLASTIC BAG. Or whatever THIS ONE is.

So there's plenty of fun to be had with Street View, but we never expected to find this.

It seems, when he's not helping Yoshimi battle pink robots from space or spending Christmas on Mars, our favourite musical cosmonaut, Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, likes to hang out in a bath tub out front of his Oklahoma home. Seriously though (not really), it's a bizarre installation Coyne and partner Michelle created for Halloween 2007, just in time for a visit from Google's roving camera. You can see it for yourself HERE (notice how it disappears when you take a jump to the RIGHT?).

About

Art from Space is an exploration of art-related phenomena that manifests in interesting ways on Google’s aerial maps. It is also an experiment in curatorial practice; collecting, presenting and contextualising items in ways that users can explore, free of curator-imposed framing and sequencing. This blog is Art from Space’s developmental musings made public, where items are introduced to the project in real time, rather than awaiting the grand unveiling of a completed exhibition. Specific locations of interest are highlighted in CAPS and linked to a map for further exploration. Visit the mother shipHERE.